© Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Last updated 4 May 2009)

  • Rosenort, Manitoba


    Retrieval numbers: Volume 1099, 4864a

    Title: Rosenort, Manitoba village fonds
    Dates: 1875-1925
    Extent: 40 cm of textual records
    Repository: Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives

    Historical note

    The village of Rosenort, Manitoba is located west of Gretna and south of Plum Coulee (latitude: 49° 02' 44"; longitude 97° 44' 43"). On September 1, 1976 it changed its name to Rosetown. It was settled by Mennonite immigrants from the Russian Mennonite colonies of Fuerstenland and Chortitza in 1875. Residents were members of the Old Colony Mennonite Church, officially known as the Reinländer Mennoniten Gemeinde.
    One of the reasons for Mennonites choosing to settle in Manitoba was the ability to maintain control of church and civic affairs as they had done in Russia. At Fort Dufferin, Manitoba Isaak Müller was elected Oberschultz or reeve for all 37 villages with Franz Froese serving as assistant and Peter Wiens as secretary. This local government was known as the Reinländer Gebietsamt. Once the pioneers had settled in their villages (in the current Winkler area) a Schultz (village mayor) was elected. Cornelius C. Peters (1876-1950) was the last village mayor (Schultz) for the village of Rosenort.
    The first years were difficult years and the winters harsh. The Mennonites needed to borrow money from the government for the purchase of flour which became known as the Brotschult or bread debt. Each household was responsible for repaying this money.
    Each village mayor was responsible for collecting vital statistics from the members of their village which was then submitted to the central office. Each mayor was also responsible for informing residents of directives from the Gebietsamt (district office). These Rundschreiben or directives ranged greatly in content, including road maintenance directives, notices of lost animals, notices of meetings, auction sales, fire guard procedures, ordering of fruit trees, debts to be paid, obligations for church construction, and village statistics to be handed in.
    In 1880 the Manitoba government created the municipality system and Isaak Mueller was the first warden of the Municipality of Rhineland. Vital statistics collected by the village mayors were then passed on to Müller for the church organization as well as the provincial government. Müller served in this role from 1880-1883. In 1884 the boundaries changed and the government exercised more control over the affairs of the municipality. The Reinländer church ended its involvements with the municipality and continued its own civic administration through the Gebietsamt.
    By 1922 the Reinländer church had lost trust in the Manitoba provincial government over the 1916 schools question. New legislation forced children to attend public schools run by the government with government certified teachers and curriculum. The Mennonites had lost the control of the education of their children. Except in a few cases, the entire Reinländer Mennonite church moved to Mexico and again re-establish their way of life without outside interference. The Waisenamt, the office responsible for the care of widows and orphans and the distribution of estates, played a central role in providing funds for the move. Whole villages were emptied with farmers selling land, livestock, implements and buildings. The few families that chose not to move to Mexico joined other Mennonite churches.

    Scope and content note

    This fonds includes the mayor's records for the civic administration of the village of Rosenort. There are reserve-wide directives that related to all 37 villages of the Reinländer Mennonite church. Also included are the financial records for each family such as the Brotschult, agreements with teachers and shepherds, the original by-law of the Municipality of Rhineland, school records, and the record of assistance given to widows.
    This material shows the organization of the pioneering Reinländer Mennonite church that contributed to their success of establishing thriving communities on the open prairies. It documents the growth and development of the Rosenort area as well as the larger Mennonite community of the Manitoba Mennonite West Reserve.

    Index terms

    Creators

  • Rosenort, Manitoba
  • Peters, Cornelius C. 1876-1950

    Adjunct descriptive data

    Finding aids

    Inventory file list and index to the Rundschreiben (J.K. Wiens).

    Notes

    Custodial history

    Cornelius C. Peters (1876-1950) was the last mayor for the village of Rosenort. He chose not to move to Mexico with the Reinländer Mennonite Church. He became a member of the Sommerfeld Mennonite church. Peters was the custodian of these papers and entrusted them to his son Cornelius C. Peters (1918-1997). In 1974, Gerhard Ens, minister, school teacher and Mennonite historian, borrowed these materials and photocopies were made by the Conference of Mennonites in Canada Historian/Archivist Lawrence Klippenstein. Adolf Ens, another Mennonite historian, created an index for the materials. The originals remained in the family's possession until they were donated to the Mennonite Heritage Centre archives by Darlene Peters, daughter of C.C. Peters in April 2009.

    Language

    German

    Arrangement

    Each file usually consists of two folders -- a photocopy and an original. The exception is file 26 where there is no original and some of the miscellaneous files do not completely match the original files. Described by Conrad Stoesz April 29, 2009.

    Restrictions on access

    None to access

    Immediate source of acquisition

    Darlene Peters

    Other notes

    Acc. Nos.: 74-04; 2009-019.

    Invenory file list

    Volume 1099
    1. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1875-1876. -- Note: Includes Rundschreiben 1876- p. 25.
    2. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1878.
    3. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1879-1880.
    4. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1880-1881.
    5. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1881.
    6. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1882-1883.
    7. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1881-1883.
    8. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1885.
    9. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1887-1889. -- Note: includes financial statements.
    10. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1890-1891.
    11. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1892-1893.
    12. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1894.
    13. Financial Records. -- 1895-1896.
    14. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1897.
    15. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1898.
    16. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1899.
    17. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1900-1901.
    18. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1902-1903.
    19. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1904-1905.
    20. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1906-1908.
    21. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1909-1910.
    22. Financial Summaries. -- 1911-1914.
    23. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1915.
    24. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1916-1917.
    25. Zechenbuch für Kolonie Rosenort (current day Rosetown, Manitoba). -- 1918-1919.
    26. Rundschreiben - Reinland Bezirk. -- 1877. -- Note: only a photocopy is included.
    27. Rundschreiben - Reinland Bezirk. -- 1878-1879.
    28. Rundschreiben - Reinland Bezirk. -- 1881.
    29. Rundschreiben - Reinland Bezirk. -- 1882.
    30. Rundschreiben - Reinland Bezirk. -- 1883-1896, 1901.
    31. Rundschreiben - Reinland Bezirk. -- 1897.
    32. Rundschreiben - Reinland Bezirk. -- 1898-1899.
    33. Rundschreiben - Reinland Bezirk. -- 1902-1906.
    34. Rundschreiben - Reinland Bezirk. -- 1908.
    35. Rundschreiben - Reinland Bezirk. -- 1910-1911. -- Note: see also vol. 4389 file 4. These two files contain some of the same material but written in a different handwriting. The 4389 file has more materials from 1910 than the volume 1099 file does.
    36. Rundschreiben - Reinland Bezirk. -- 1912.
    37. Bekanntmachungen (Notices). -- 1917-1924.
    38. Agreements made with teachers and shepherds. -- 1899-1924.
    39. Mennonite customs of inheritance of estates and administration of the property of minors. -- [189-?].
    40. Assistance for widows. -- 1903-1910.
    Volume 4864a
    1. Miscellaneous papers including correspondence. -- 1895-1925.
    2. Miscellaneous village records. -- 1884-1924.
    3. Records of Brotschuld (bread debt). -- 1876-1877.
    4. School records. -- 1924-1925.
    5. Original by law for the Rhineland municipality. -- 1884.
    6. Documents authorizing the sale of land. -- 1924.